Chokepoint
Chokepoint is the twelfth level. The Flame Bracers are introduced here. Stage Description Three gates stand before you, all facing a wide area tappering to a small 3x3 square wooden bridge. Past the bridge, the map broadens wide again with multiple paths for the mobs to reach the rift. Two elevated balconies flank the bridge. Mob Waves (War Mage) Enemies Encountered: Orc Warriors, Kobold Runners and Ogres 1. All Gates: Orc Warriors x 2 2. Right and Left Gates: Orc Warriors x 2; Center Gate: Kobold Runners, Orc Warriors 3. Right and Left Gates: Orc Warriors, Kobold Runners; Center Gate: Orc Warriors x2 Go Break 4. Right and Left Gates: Kobold Runners; Center Gate: Ogre 5. All Gates: Orc Warriors x 3 6. Right and Left Gates: Orc Warriors x 2; Center Gate: Ogre Go Break 7. Right and Left Gates: Kobold Runners; Center Gate: Orc Warriors x 3 8. All Gates: Orc Warriors x 2; 9. Right and Left Gates: Orc Warriors, Kobold Runners; Center Gate: Ogre x 2, Orc Warriors Walkthrough (War Mage) Name kinda gives it away, doesn't it? This is one of the simplest map in the whole game: just waves of orcs against your well-defended position. Truth be told, traps and upgrades aren't so important as experimenting the power of your new Flame Bracers. The choice of weaver isn't that important, but of course I'll recommend the Elemental Weaver so that you can try out your new toy at its fullest capacity. With Elemental Weaver Pick Crossbow, Blade Staff, Wind Belt, Flame Bracers, Barricades, Tar Pits, Elf Archers, Floor Spikes. Focus on the bridge: put two Barricades on the top right and left side of the 3x3 square and a Tar Pit between them, with three more in front for added protection. Shoot what you can with your crossbow and blow the assembled mobs away when they reach between your barricades. You'll learn to use the Flame Bracer in this map; the alt-fire lays down a pervasive flame barrier that deals Damage over Time (DoT) to any who cross it. Concidentally enough, the width of the flame barrier is exactly one square: lay one between your barricades for high kill counts. Primary fire activates a fireball that spreads out in a circle when it hits: this is useful if you buffet a whole bunch of orcs down the stairs and hit them all from above. Take the Mana Conservation upgrade as soon as you finish your choke point. Place archers on the balconies on the first break if not sooner. Build a 2x2 square of Floor Spikes past the first set of steps leading to the bridge: this is where most of your blown-back orcs often end up. Add a couple more at the entrance of each gate so as to stem the flow of orcs, even by just a little. Afterwards you can add either another length of barricades and tar pits to the bridge or a whole bunch of archers on the balconies. Blinding Stun can help dealing with ogres: always try to stun ogres on your 2x2 square of spike traps. If not, stun the ogre on your tar trap and go to town with your Holy blade staff. Firestorm doesn't seem as important: who needs added DoT when one fireball kills anything short of an ogre? It doesn't seem to extend the length of time a flame barrier is active. With Steel Weaver Pick Crossbow, Wind Belt, Flame Bracers, Barricades, Tar Pits, Elf Archers, Floor Spikes and Spring Traps. Mostly the same, but the Death Augmenter upgrade along with masses of archers will end up paying for themselves. You are much more dependant on archers in this build: use plenty of them, spread them out across the balconies and mass about five of them a square or two behind the bridge. Try to get the Burning Pitch upgrade before the ogres come. Place spring traps right in front your archers as protection (though those might not be necessary). You should reach your guardian limit by the second break. Mob Waves (Nightmare) Enemies Encountered: Shield Orcs, Kobold Runners, Kobold Sappers, Ogres and Armored Ogres. 1. All Gates: Shield Orcs 2. Right and Left Gates: Shield Orcs; Middle Gate: Kobold Runners 3. Right and Left Gates: Shield Orcs, Kobold Runners; Middle Gate: Shield Orcs 4. Right and Left Gates: Kobold Sappers Middle Gate: Kobold Sappers, Ogre 5. All Gates: Shield Orcs; Right and Left Gates: Ogre 6. All Gates: Shield Orcs; Middle Gate: Armored Ogre 7. Right and Left Gates: Kobold Runners; All Gates: Shield Orcs; Middle Gate: Shield Orcs 8. All Gates: Shield Orcs x2 9. All Gates: Shield Orcs; Right and Left Gates: Kobold Sappers; Middle Gate: Ogre x2 Walkthrough (Nightmare) One of the easier maps, even on nightmare: there are tons of ways to gain five skulls according to whichever weaver strategy you prefer. With Knowledge Weaver Pick Crossbow, Wind Belt, Flame Bracers, Lightning Ring, Barricades, Tar Traps, Elf Archers, Brimstone, Autoballista and Spore Mushrooms. Take that Spell Magnification update right away and build your barricades and tar traps: barricades middle row left and middle row right of bridge, tar trap between and three more in front when you get the coins. When the orcs come, either squeeze a flame barrier between barricades or throw a lightning storm past your choke point and wind blast the orcs into it: you'll kill all your mobs near-instantly and rack up tons of coin! Add archers on the balconies three or four at a time between waves: just so long as you don't lose control of the situation. There's no trick in taking out the Kobold Sappers apart from a steady aim and maybe three more tar traps in front, but I do build an extra set of barricades behind my main line as "back up". Spread brimstones around so as to catch the maximum amount of mobs before they become a problem but make sure you always have enough coins for an opportune spore mushrooms. This same philosophy applies to autoballistas: they're easier to place than archers and are prefered in the late game. You don't even need the Friends in Need upgrade: if anything hits you it'll most probably stun you too, allowing a whole bunch of mobs to get through to the rift and making the health point moot. On the other hand and by the way you kill your orcs, the Zombie Orcs upgrade will trigger more often than not. With Steel Weaver Pick Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Steam Traps, Spring Traps, Elf Archers, Brimstone, Decoy. You start with 4000 coins: build 8 steam traps on the bridge itself (2400 coins), get your Death Augmenter upgrade (500 coins) and place two archers on a balcony overlooking the bridge (1000 coins). Drop a lightning storm on the steam traps first, buy that ninth steam drap as you gain coins. Build a couple of brimstones ahead of your main bridge if only to reduce the pressure caused by Kobold rushes; they're the worst early on. Keep adding archers between waves, making sure you gain the Overcoiled Springs upgrade by wave 4. Otherwise, stand on the bridge and use ice nova along with your blade staff to sweep up during hectic moments. Buy offensive traps first, then finish with a row of spring traps along with a decoy just touching those traps. Just be careful for wave 4 and use a lightning storm over the bridge itself: with luck you'll take out the ogre with the kobold sappers' explosives. Get ten or so archers on each balcony and start building more steam traps. Brimstones at the gate are suggested but not necessary. Same deal with the Burning Pitch upgrade, although that one is a little more of a priority. With Elemental Weaver Pick Crossbow, Wind Belt, Blade Staff, Ice Amulet, Lightning Ring, Tar Traps, Elf Archers, Brimstone, Autoballista and Spore Mushrooms. Pick the Icy Winds upgrade right away and build tar traps on the first two rows of the bridge. Go up on a balcony: from now on your strategy is to bunch up as many orcs on the traps and wind blast them into the lava for massive kill counts. Pick off stragglers with your crossbow and lightning bolts. Place three brimstones on the last row of the bridge for wave 2, adding three more ahead of the tar traps when you can. Priority is on saving coins for a spore mushroom by wave 4. With your ogre serving as a makeshift paladin, add archers behind him. Give particular attention to the ogres: freeze them early so as to seperate them from the main mob. Try placing spore mushrooms just ahead of their path while they're still frozen; Ogres are often on the trail end of waves so that should give you time enough to freeze 'em, wind blast your orcs into the lava and then convert the ogres. Otherwise, freeze and smash 'em while they're occupied with the archers, replacing archers as necessary. Invest the rest of your fortune in autoballistas, always keeping enough coins for a timely spore mushroom. Other upgrades aren't as important as a full row of autoballistas but additional brimstones are always welcome. Just don't bunch them up together or you lose some of their efficiency. Category:Orcs Must Die!